A little help from an unexpected place
by potatovodka
Summary: Natsume tries to help Black Rose feel better. Rated T for situations and fantasy violence.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own .hack, any of its series or characters. This is a work of fanfiction.

...

The battle with the eight phases began to wear everyone down a bit. After defeating Macha, everyone felt a little uneasy. Mia seemed to be a spy who was there from the beginning, even with her previous relationship with Elk. Black Rose didn't feel too surprised, after all, Mia knew about gate hacking. Helba knew a few things, but she was a well known hacker.  
...

Natsume was always looking to help anyone out who needed it. She saw Black Rose sitting down in the field after the battle, and decided to go and see if there was anything she could do to help get her spirits up. She walked over and sat down next to Black Rose, and brought up the first thing she could think of to try and give some positive energy. "It's nice how they started adding more realistic sensory effects to the M2D system." She began. "Like how you can smell the flowers, but without the allergies."

Black Rose looked up, across the field, and took a whiff to smell the breeze and see what Natsume meant. She could smell flowers. She knew they had to be coming from the game, since she didn't have any flowers in her room. Since being caught up in the epic battle with the phases, Black Rose had forgotten how much realism was incorporated into the game outside of battle. She began to smile as she responded. "Yeah. That's another reason to fight, so we can all get back to enjoying the sights and sounds of the game."

Natsume cracked a smile as well. She felt like she was starting to help her friend feel better about fighting the good fight, and having a clear goal to strive for. She scooted a little closer to Black Rose, thinking that being closer to someone friendly might help elevate the mood somewhat. Black Rose didn't seem to notice, with her eyes still on the plains before them. "I wish there was a way to make food in the game, too." Natsume said.

"Yeah, that would be something." Black Rose responded. "That would be a neat ability. Maybe even special food that has better health effects."

"Maybe even make recipes from home. I could make burgers for everyone." Natsume replied, to which they shared a brief chuckle.

"You know, there's so many things in The World that are neat escapes from real life." Black Rose started. But so many things they might not ever get into the game, but there's only so much you can do with existing technology."

"Like what?" Natsume asked.

"You know, pain sensation. Although people who've been put in comas show proof that it may not be a good idea." She answered.

"Maybe they could start small, like with basic touch sensation." Natsume started. "We may not have everything yet, but we're getting closer."

Black Rose thought about it, and decided that maybe Natsume would be able to understand like Mistral was. She started telling her about home life, her family, and some things she already told everyone, like her brother. She told her about how she enjoyed running to take her mind off of things. Natsume kept her ears open, taking in everything and talking with her friend about things she brought up. Then, she thought of something that hadn't come up, which was romantic relationships.

"If it isn't prying too much, is there anyone you're seeing, in a romantic sense?" She asked.

"N-no, I haven't really had the time," Black Rose began to answer, as her avatar's cheeks began to turn red just as her own. "I haven't even had my first kiss yet."

"Oh. I can see how with everything else going on, you wouldn't have much time for anything else," Natsume began. "But, maybe that's something I can help with."

Black Rose started wondering what Natsume meant. "Um, what exactly do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, this." Natsume answered, as she made her avatar join lips with that of Black Rose.

The two sat there, joined at the lips for a moment, and even though it was all virtual, Black Rose swore she could feel another person's lips on hers. "That would've been my first kiss as well." Natsume said. "I hope that wasn't too weird or crass."

"No, not really. I just wasn't expecting it, was all." Black Rose replied.

She couldn't help but feel like there was a real kiss shared between them. She pushed it aside for the time being. After a few more minutes of sitting and talking, the girls said their goodbyes and parted ways for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the .hack series in any form. This is a work of fanfiction.

...

Black Rose sent Natsume a game invite and waited by the chaos gate in Sigma server. It didn't take too long for her to show up. She ran over to Black Rose and hugged her. Even though she couldn't feel the touch of the hug, she felt the warmth it was meant to give. The girls talked and decided to go to a dungeon a couple of levels higher than they were to get stronger. They stocked up their health items and saved their character data before heading out. They set the gate for random words, which gave them a level 69 area, Sigma: Solemn Agonizing Twins. Its element was earth, which was okay since they had plenty of wood type scrolls and Natsume had a set of blades that had skills available with wood effects.

...

The field was a rainy grassland type, of which they could smell the telltale scent of rain coming down around them. They encountered a magic portal in the field and activated it. They were ready for a fight, but the portal generated a treasure chest instead. They opened it and found a scroll, "The Fool". They kept going and found the dungeon entrance. The inside of the dungeon appeared to be a stone castle type.

The first portal they found in the dungeon was so close to another, that both were activated when they stepped closer to the first. The closer portal spawned a Lich, a night mare and a Dark Maiden. They were dispatched fairly quickly and the monsters coming from the other portal soon joined them. There were two dark maidens and another night mare. After dealing with the monsters, they checked their health. They felt as though they were okay and kept going.

The third portal wasn't too far ahead. This one spawned another Lich. After defeating it,a treasure chest, this one having an Artisans Soul. They recovered their health and pushed forward. They kept hacking and slashing their way through to the bottom level of the dungeon. Their health items were almost gone, but they were almost finished. Taking on a higher level area was a good idea, as it had leveled them up three times.

They made it to the last portal and activated it. Out came a Golem, which was immune to physical attack. Black Rose used a Knights Bane to take away its immunity. The monster still had some fight to go around, which chipped away at their remaining health items. They were able to get its health down as well. The beast went to swing at Black Rose, and Natsume pushed her out of the way in time. The strike hit her instead, which killed her. Black Rose readied her sword and struck out with Juk Drive, which finished the monster off. She got the experience points, but Natsume didn't. Her ghost stood there. "I don't suppose you would happen to have a resurrect in your inventory, would you?"

Black Rose used a resurrect scroll to bring Natsume back. "Why'd you do that? I mean, I do appreciate the gesture. Just wondering."

"Well, your character has stronger attacks than mine. I knew you could finish it off easier than I could have." Natsume replied.

Black Rose hugged her and thanked her again for saving her. "I just wish you could've gotten those points too."

...

After returning to root town and selling off unwanted gear, they restocked their supplies and saved. Before logging out for the day, Black Rose stopped Natsume. "I had fun today. Let's do it again sometime. And one more thing..."

"What's that?"

"I wanted to try that kiss again, now that I'm expecting it."

The girls leaned in and kissed each other again in The World, and Black Rose knew she felt her lips touching someone else's. It was again as if she'd really kissed Natsume. They said their goodbyes and logged out.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the .hack series in any form. this is a work of fanfiction.

...

Akira, the person behind BlackRose, laid awake in bed, thinking about what had been going on with The World recently. The phases were getting more complex and powerful, much in the same way hurricanes and earthquakes were measured, where each level is so much worse than the last. The next name on the list was Tarvos, and the phrase in the story kept playing over and over in her head. 'Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy.' She kept telling herself that they've made it this far, that they had taken down all of the other phases so far, and this one was just next in line. "It's all just lines of code, ones and zeroes, math problems that computers can't solve." She whispered to herself. "But it changes every time. It acts like a virus, but it isn't a virus. It's thinking, changing to counter us at every turn. But we can't stop."

Not able to sleep, Akira went over to her computer to see if anyone was available to talk. Natsume was online recently, within a few minutes, so Akira sent her a message in the hopes that she would come back and see it. She laid her head on the desk for a moment, and after a little while, her computer pinged with a message from Natsume. When she clicked the message, it opened the video messenger and they were able to speak instead of just type. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Natsume asked with a smile.

"No, not at all. What are you still doing up?"

"Just getting a latenight snack." Natsume answered, opening a small bag of chips.

"You can eat that stuff and keep a figure?" Akira came back.

"I've got a fast metabolism. I can eat almost anything, almost never exercise and I hardly gain any weight." Natsume answered, munching on the chips. "How do you keep your figure?"

"I run whenever I can. It helps relieve stress and I get to keep fit."

"Well, it works. You look great."

Akira wasn't used to getting compliments in that way from other girls, but she felt okay with it being someone she was fighting alongside against the cursed wave. This also gave her reason to try and ask about the kiss. "Hey, I know it was trying to help, and I'm not upset over it. But, what made you think of kissing?"

Natsume thought about it for a moment. "Well, you looked like you could use the extra little distraction. Even if it was only for a moment, neither of us were thinking about the terrible things going on in The World or anywhere else."

"Well, it was appreciated. It had the effect you were going for. But tell me something, did it feel like we were actually kissing? Like, in real life?"

"It did. I wonder what's up with that?"

"Maybe they're making it that much more realistic with some touch sensation. But I hope that's about as far as they plan to take it."

Natsume nodded in agreement, then thought of something else to help with the burden of The World. "Want to meet and try that in real life?"

Akira was a little shaken up over the offer, but didn't want to dismiss it. "Um, I've never kissed anyone before. Not in person, anyway. But... if you're interested, I guess we could try it. What time would be okay for you?"

"How 'bout tomorrow, around lunchtime? We can meet at the mall in city center in Yokohama?"

"I gotta be honest here, I'm kinda nervous. But if you're up for it, I'm game too."

...

Akira woke up the next day and started getting ready for the day. She showered, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair and put on a regular t-shirt, jean shorts and flip flops. As an added touch, wanting to impress Natsume in person, she put on her nicest perfume. She sat down for breakfast with her family as usual, not letting on about what she was planning for the day. She only told them that she was going to meet Natsume, but not about the planned kiss. After eating, she went back to her room and used the mouthwash, then took off for the day.

The Yokohama city center was fairly close to both of them, but even so, both used the trains to get there by the agreed upon time. They exchanged information about what they would be wearing and where to meet so they could pick each other out fairly easily. The agreed meeting place was by the fountain in the mall, and before too long, they would see each other and came up to each other to share a hug. "Wow, you went out of your way like this for me?" Natsume asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Heh, well, I was raised with the idea that a first impression is important." Akira replied. "But look at you, getting all dolled up yourself."

Natsume blushed lightly at the compliment, herself dressed in a sleeveless shirt with skirt to match, with formal dress shoes and thigh high socks. "Oh, you're just being nice." She chuckled lightly. "Anyway, should we kiss here?"

Akira thought about it a moment. "Hmm... How about we hang out at the mall today first. We can maybe start holding hands and later today we can kiss."

"So, like a date?"

Akira similarly started to blush now. "Eh, I guess so. I mean, usually, people wait until after a date to kiss. At least, that's what I've always thought."

Natsume held out her hand and Akira took it, both of them sharing a smile as they started walking. Their first stop on what was now their date was a clothing shop. Natsume picked out more thigh high socks and a couple of new shirts. Akira found a sports bra in her size and picked it up. As she was leaning down, she looked over and saw the way Natsume's socks were fitting to her legs. They had just the slightest bit of pressure, making it look good, but not too tight. After paying for their things, they took their leave, holding hands again as they walked. Curiosity got the better of Akira and she decided to ask about the socks. "If you don't mind my asking, do you wear those types of socks often?"

"Not all the time. I usually just wear knee high socks, but I'll wear these on the weekends or special occasions. Why, do you like them?"

"Yeah, they look good on you. Arent they a little tight though?"

"They're supposed to be. It actually helps with circulation a bit."

"I might have to try those sometime when I'm running." Akira said, thinking about picking some up from the mall next time she was there.

Their next stop was a video game store. Both being avid gamers, they had played a good number of the games they saw on the shelves with the used games. The selection of new games was pretty good, and both of them would pick up a new game each. Natsume looked around the store, seeing that it didn't have quite as many patrons as she was used to seeing. "Pardon me, but is there any reason you guys aren't as busy as usual?"

"That big virus scare on the internet is really cutting back on our business. I hope they catch those damn hackers." The clerk responded.

His answer made Akira and Natsume look at each other for a moment, as they knew what the deal really was about the 'virus' that was in The World and the internet. "I'm not entirely convinced that hackers are responsible." Akira started. "I mean, it started in The World and spread, right? Don't you think the highly paid people working for CC corp would be able to stop something like that?"

"Yeah, it's either they don't care or it really isn't hackers." Natsume added. "If it were hackers, they probably wouldn't have left any traces to follow it. And even if they did, why haven't any of them been found yet? They are claiming the hackers are here in Japan."

"It's like they're saying 'we know who and where, but we aren't doing anything'. So they might not care." Akira added.

"Eh, that's just what I get from the news. I don't know much about it otherwise."

...

After having spent a little time together, they decided it was appropriate to go about their first kiss. They went back by the fountain and held both hands, looking into each others' eyes. "I had a great time today. Maybe we can do this again sometime." Akira said.

"Oh, for sure. I'd like to hang out some more. Maybe we can make this a regular thing?" Natsume asked.

"Like... as in... we'll be dating?" Akira responded, her heart beating a little faster.

"Yeah, like girlfriends. I mean, I really like you, and I'd like to be with you. If that's okay."

"I don't know what I'll tell my folks. They're pretty traditional. My dad is, anyway. But... I like the idea of us being an item."

They closed their eyes and kissed. Even though it was only a simple kiss, it felt the same in person as it had when they tried it in the game, and Akira felt like that meant they were supposed to get together. "Well, if you're up later, maybe we can chat again." Natsume said, a loving smile on her face.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Talk to you later, sweetie."


End file.
